Support bracket



Aug. 31, 1965 c. F. BROWN ,203,

SUPPORT BRACKET Filed April 29, 1964 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR. EARL F5120mm.

ATTYS Aug. 31, 1965 c. F. BROWN 3,203,658

SUPPORT BRACKET Filed April 29, 1964 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 E 4 INVENTOR.

CARL E .EZHUl YN.

.ATTZYE.

United States Patent 3,203,658 SUPPORT BRACKET Carl F. Brown, 7 JacksonSt., Norwalk, Ohio Filed Apr. 29, 1964, Ser. No. 363,370 Claims. (Cl.248-211) This invention relates to a support bracket to be removablyattached to a ladder and which includes a convenient hook or otherattaching means for suspending objects, such as a paint bucket, to beused by the person on the ladder. More specifically, this inventionrelates to a support bracket which may be easily interlocked with therung and rail of an ordinary ladder and which may be attached to eitherthe left or right side of the ladder in both a forward and backwardposition.

Of the several types of pail supporting brackets commonly used bypainters and other workers, a common defeet is the fact that none ofthese brackets can be used on both the left and right-hand side of aladder and in a manner suspending the pail either below the ladder in afor- Ward position (toward the supporting wall) or a backward position(away from the supporting wall). A variety of positions is highlydesirable, of course, depending on whether the painter or worker isright or left-handed, and depending upon the desired relationship of thelocation of the paint bucket, etc. to the work. For instance, it isoften desirable to locate the paint bucket in a forward position nearthe wall which is being painted. However, in other instances, it may bedesirable to locate the paint bucket in a backward position away fromthe wall if the painter is working on a ceiling, etc., or where theuppermost portions of the ladder are close to the supporting wall andthere is insufiicient room between the ladder and wall for the bracketand bucket.

Another shortcoming of the support brackets now used is that, due totheir construction, they cannot be used upon telescoping extensionladders where the rails of one ladder pass closely adjacent the rails ofthe second. Also, because of the fact that many of the prior art supportbrackets do not interlock with the rail and rung of the ladder, theywill not safely support the paint bucket or other bucket when anextensible ladder is being extended or contracted or when the ladder isbeing moved.

Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a supportingbracket for use with a ladder which may be removably attached on eitherthe left or right rail of a ladder in either a forward or backwardposition, as described.

It is another object of this invention to provide a support bracketwhich, because of its unique design, may be easily but securelyinterlocked with the rail and rung of a ladder in a variety of positionsand which provides a steady support means for a paint bucket or otherobject and which cannot be knocked loose by a minor jar to the ladder.

It is yet another object of this invention to provide a supportingbracket which may be used in conjunction with a double extension ladderand which, when attached to the rail of one section of an extensionladder, will not interfere with the adjacent section of the extensionladder but will permit extension and contraction of the sections of theladder.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be more apparent inthe following specification and drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a side view of a preferred embodiment of this invention;

FIGURE 2 is a view in perspective of the preferred embodiment of thisinvention shown in FIGURE 1, clearly showing the details ofconstruction;

FIGURE 3 illustrates, in perspective, a small section of 3,Zll3,fi58Patented Aug. 31, 1965 a ladder with the support bracket of thisinvention removably attached in four positions; and

FIGURE 4 illustrates, in perspective, a short section of an extensionladder with the support bracket of this invention attached in sixadditional positions.

Referring specifically to FIGURES 1 and 2, the illustrated preferredembodiment of the support bracket of this invention, generally indicatedby the reference numeral 10, includes a pair of parallel spaced apartelongate members 11 connected at their upper ends by a cross member 12.The cross member 12 is preferably slightly curved, as illustrated inFIGURE 2, to approximately conform to the curvature of a ladder rungwhen the support bracket is attached in a manner illustrated in FIGURE3. tending at right angles from the elongate members 11 are parallelarms 13. One of the arms 13 includes an upwardly extending portion orfinger 14, as shown in FIG- URE 2, which terminates in an outwardlyextending terminal member 15. The other arm 13 includes a downwardlyextending hook 16. The hook 16 comprises a support leg 17 and a returnleg 18 which continues beyond the arm 13 and includes an upper sectionwhich is parallel to the upward portion or finger 14- on the other arm13. The return leg 18 terminates in a second terminal member 19 which isparallel to and spaced apart from the terminal member 15, as is shown inFIGURE 2.

In the preferred embodiment of this invention, the distance between theelongate members 11, the arms 13, and the terminal members 15 and 19, aswell as the distance between the elongate members 11 and the upwardportion or finger Maud the upper section of the return leg 18, as isindicated by the dimension d in FIG- URE 2, is approximately equal tothe width or smallest dimension of a standard ladder rail. Thus, whenthe support bracket 10 is attached to a ladder rail in any of thepositions illustrated in FIGURES 3 and 4, it snugly hugs the ladder railand cannot be inadvertently shaken loose; When so dimensioned, a springaction or slight bending of the cross member 12 or the arms 13 willpress the adjacent members against the ladder rail and securely hold thesupport bracket 10 in position in each of the illustrated positions.

FIGURE 3 illustrates four positions in which the support bracket 10 ofthis invention may be advantageously used. The upper two positions shownin FIGURE 3 illustrate the support bracket 10a or 1012 in a position inwhich the paint bucket or other container is held away from the wallsupporting the ladder. These positions, which may be described as theright rearward and left rearward positions, are particularlyadvantageous when the painter or other worker is working in an areawhich is relatively remote from the surface of the wall supporting theladder or when there is not sufficient clearance between the ladder andthe wall for the bracket 10 and bucket in the forward position.

The lower two positions in FIGURE 3 show the bracket 10c and 10d in theright forward and left forward positions in which the paint bucket orother container is suspended in a direction towards the wall supportingthe ladder. Thesepositions are particularly useful when the worker ispainting or otherwise preparing the wall which supports the ladder. Thechoice of either the right or left-hand position is dictated by whetherthe painter is working to the right or left of the ladder or whether thepainter is right or left-handed. As is clearly seen in FIGURE 3, in eachof the positions 10a through 10d, the support bracket is securelyattached to the ladder by looping the elongate members 11 and crossmember 12 around the ladder rung and securing the ladder rail betweenthe elongate members 11 and the upper portion or finger 14 or the uppersection of the return leg 18.

FIGURE 4 illustrates six additional positions in which the supportbracket of this invention may be attached to a ladder. These positionsare particularly useful when an extension ladder, as illustrated inFIGURE 4, is used. In the position designated as 10e, the elongatemembers 11 and cross member 12 are looped around the ladder rail and oneof the elongate members 11 rests upon the ladder rail. In this position,the inner elongate member 11 and its associated arm 13 etc., are snuglyadjacent the inner side of the outer rail and do not interfere with theinner rail of the other ladder section which is spaced apart a distancesuflicient to permit insertion of the support bracket therebetween.

Position 10 is similar to position 10a except that the bracket 10 isinverted and the terminal members 15 and 19 point downwardly as shown.Positions 10g and 1011 are right and left rearward positions,respectively. In each of positions 10c through 10g, the hook 16 isoutside the outer rail and holds the bucket away from the sliding innerrail of the extension ladder.

Positions 101' and 10 also shown in FIGURE 4, are two additionalpositions in which the support bracket 10 may be used. In thesepositions, the hook 11 is adjacent the inner side of the ladder rail andextends towards the support wall.

In positions 1011 through 10d, shown in FIGURE 3, the terminal members15 and 19 project outwardly from the ladder rails and may be used asconvenient hooks to suspend a paint brush or other tool when not in use.These terminal points may also be used as pry points for opening paintcans, etc. Due to the fact that the support bracket 10 of this inventionis snugly secured around the ladder rail, a paint scraper or puttyknife, often used by painters, may be conveniently wedged between theoutside of the ladder rail and the adjacent part of the support bracket.

It will be apparent that various changes and modifications can be madein the specific details of the preferred embodiment described abovewithout departing from the spirit of the attached claims.

What I claim is:

1. A support bracket for suspending objects from a ladder comprising, incombination, a pair of parallel, spaced apart legs joined at one end bya cross member, a first arm extending from the other end of the first ofsaid legs normal to the plane of said parallel legs, a finger extendingfrom the end of said first arm parallel to said first leg to form anopen slot therewith, a second arm extending from the other end of thesecond of said legs parallel to and spaced apart from said first arm, anelongate hanger means extending from the other end of said second armwith a return portion extending beyond the other end of said second armto form a second finger parallel to said second leg and forming an openslot therewith.

2. The support bracket of claim 1 wherein the distance between saidspaced apart legs and the width of said slot between said legs and saidfingers parallel to said legs is substantially equal.

3. The support bracket of claim 2 wherein said cross member is arcuateshaped.

4. The support bracket of claim 2 including a terminal member extendingfrom the free end of each of said fingers away from said spaced apartlegs.

5. A support bracket comprising a pair of parallel, spaced apartelongate members connected at one end by an arcuate cross piece, an armextending from the other end of each of said elongate members in adirection normal to the plane of said elongate members and said crosspiece, the first of said arms including a first return leg generallyparallel to said elongate members and a first terminal member parallelto said arms and extending away from said elongate members, an elongatesupport loop extending from the second of said arms in a direction awayfrom said cross piece, the return portion of said support loop passingadjacent to and extending beyond said second arm and comprising a secondreturn leg generally parallel to and spaced apart from said first returnleg, and a second terminal member extending from said second return legparallel to said first terminal member.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 982,604 1/ llHarring 2482l1 1,811,065 6/31 Stroebel 248-211 2,503,108 4/50 Glandville2482l1 FOREIGN PATENTS 775,664 5/57 Great Britain.

CLAUDE A. LE ROY, Primary Examiner.

FRANK L. ABBOTT, Examiner.

1. A SUPPORT BRACKET FOR SUSPENDING OBJECTS FROM A SAID LEGS NORMAL TOTHE PLANE OF SAID PARALLEL LEGS, A LADDER COMPRISING, IN COMBINATION, APAIR OF PARALLE, SPACED APART LEGS JOINED AT ONE END BY A CROSS MEMBER,A FIRST EXTENDING FROM THE OTHER END OF THE FIRST OF FINGER EXTENDINFROM THE END OF SAID FIRST ARM PARALLEL TO SAID FIRST LEG TO FORM ANOPEN SLOT THEREWITH, A SECOND ARM EXTENDING FROM THE OTHER END OF THESECOND OF SAID LEGS PARALLEL TO AND SPACED APART FROM SAID FIRST ARM, AN